I was just curious if any padders out there have ever taken any substances like creatine or whey protein to add some bulk. I weigh 180 right now, trying to get to about 195, 200. I am not interested in gaining just fat, so no "just eat more oreos" suggestions please! :p I don't want to be super "buffed" or anything, but my goal is to have a body similar to Will Smith. I have seen plenty of "lose weight" posts/threads, but not many of these. Does anybody have any tips on supplements or specific routines? As it is now I just eat a lot and go to the gym when I can. I'm making progress, but it's pretty slow. Thanks!

-keith

I was taking creatine for a long time while lifting heavy weights and I did see an increase in size pretty fast. As you probably know creatine works by storing water in the muscles seperating the muscle fibers and giving them more room to grow so that they grow faster. This is why you need to drink plenty of water when you're taking it. I couldn't be sure if the bulk I was seeing was muscle or water. Then I took a two week vacation and left the creatine at home. (Trying to get a white powdery substance through security at the airport didn't seem like a very good idea.;) ) By the time I returned home all of the water had gone away and I was a heck of a lot smaller. There was muscle but not as much as I thought. I shopped around and found L-Glutimine. I'm not sure on the details but it's a natural substance made in the body so it's not like you're putting something artificial in yourself. It works slower than creatine but there's no water in the muscle so the results are not deceiving. I also read that it increases the imune system helping to prevent colds. The clerk at the fitness store told me if he had to place them in order of importance for muscle building, he would place L-Glutimine first, Protein second and Creatine third.
I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thanks for the info! I have actually tried L-Glutamine before. A guy at the gym said it worked really well for sore muscles. I liked it and I guess I had forgotten all about it. I don't want to put on water weight and lose it when I go on vacation though! Hmmm. Maybe I'll just start with the Glutamine and take extra protein. Thanks again!

Endurox R4 is pretty good. It's a "recovery drink" which means less soreness/tiredness after workouts, and I've found it seems to increase energy if you sip it during the workout, and then the workouts are more productive overall.

It contains L-glutamine and whey protein among many other things. I have some doubts about pouring so many chemicals into myself, so only use it for a month or 2 at a time. The rest of the time I follow the general rule of consuming protein right after the workout.

I should mention also that the citrus flavors are pretty palatable, but the one other flavor I tried was pretty rank.

A guy named Anthony Ellis has an interesting site called fastmusclegain.com.

I have been working out to get bigger. At the start of the school year I was 135 pounds at 5'10". So far I am at 148 pounds and I haven't used any suplements. I have thought about using whey but I want to go at least 18 months without any help.

Hi!
I'm currently 45 y/o and weight 205. I began my weight lifting journey at age 36 when I was 155 lbs. In 5 years, I went from 155 to 215 by eating 4 squares a day and drinking protein shakes, lifting heavy 4X a week. I'm more comfortable at 200 lbs. than I was at 215 lbs., so that's where I've stayed the last 5 years or so. I've used Creatine to get over "plateaus" when I've peaked in my bench press. I was stuck at 275 max for along time, and Creatine helped me break past 275 (made it to my goal of 315lb. bench press).

It certainly helps in short term recovery, you can rest less inbetween sets, thus get more lifting in if you're limited by time at the gym. Water weight gain is a side effect. You should not "load" more than once every 3 months...go to a maintenance use of 1 heaping teaspoon a day inbetween loading. When you load, you do 5 a day for a week, and as mentioned, drink LOTS of water! I'd also recommend not doing creatine for longer than 3 months at a time, then go off it for 3 months.

Currently I use nothing, as at my age I'm just in "maintenance mode". My max bench is still up around 295 (I work out in a pyramid, starting at 185 and work up to fatigue with my last set being about 3 reps at 285) and I feel great, however the joints require Gluscosamine as I'm getting old! :)

Enjoy! LIfting/Excercise IS the fountain of youth man has been searching for, its right beneath our noses!

Hi!
I'm currently 45 y/o and weight 205. I began my weight lifting journey at age 36 when I was 155 lbs. In 5 years, I went from 155 to 215 by eating 4 squares a day and drinking protein shakes, lifting heavy 4X a week. I'm more comfortable at 200 lbs. than I was at 215 lbs., so that's where I've stayed the last 5 years or so. I've used Creatine to get over "plateaus" when I've peaked in my bench press. I was stuck at 275 max for along time, and Creatine helped me break past 275 (made it to my goal of 315lb. bench press).

It certainly helps in short term recovery, you can rest less inbetween sets, thus get more lifting in if you're limited by time at the gym. Water weight gain is a side effect. You should not "load" more than once every 3 months...go to a maintenance use of 1 heaping teaspoon a day inbetween loading. When you load, you do 5 a day for a week, and as mentioned, drink LOTS of water! I'd also recommend not doing creatine for longer than 3 months at a time, then go off it for 3 months. (Summer time is when I took a break, since I eat alot of steak in the summer)

Currently I use nothing, as at my age I'm just in "maintenance mode". My max bench is still up around 295 (I work out in a pyramid, starting at 185 and work up to fatigue with my last set being about 3 reps at 285) and I feel great, however the joints require Gluscosamine as I'm getting old! :)

Enjoy! LIfting/Excercise IS the fountain of youth man has been searching for, its right beneath our noses!

Did I mention I love doing biceps!? :D
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/8668097/140182493.jpg

Did I mention I love doing biceps!? :D
http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/8668097/140182493.jpg
Where do you buy long sleeve shirts:D

Dup. post. Mod please delete one of those above.

Heh, I had my under armour t-shirt with that pic, and the pic was a joke that started on another BBS about "net thugs"..."Lets arm wrestle to see who wins this debate" sort of humor. :)

My 'ceps are only 18", no problems with long sleeve shirts. ;)

Every morning for breakfast I drink a whey protein shake that contains the powdered protien stuff blended in with whole milk and some fruit. Mainly this is to maintain a healthy weight and lose the fat. I'm sure if you mix that in with weight lifting I think it could help contribute to muscle gain.

But I have a feeling that I'm reiterating information that you already know.